The One Thing Most Americans Agree On: Smoking Weed Should Be Legal

April 20, which is colloquially known as 4/20, has joined the ranks of the Super Bowl and Game of Thrones premiere night as unofficial national holidays. Unlike its counterparts, however, there’s a chance you wind up behind bars (or at least earn yourself a hefty fine) for celebrating. But, as the country moves towards a more unified ideological position on pot, we can’t help but get the sense that sooner rather than later, observing 4/20 will no longer be a crime.

That belief was fortified Thursday, when CBS News released a poll in which 61% of Americans said that they think marijuana should be legalized. For the record, that’s a whole five points more than last year’s poll, and the highest such figure in almost four decades.

The poll’s results also suggest that a growing number of Americans think the federal government should stop policing the sale of marijuana in states where it’s already legal. While that was in fact the position of Obama’s administration, the new administration plans to crack down on the sale of marijuana, according to a statement made by Sean Spicer in February. Spicer cited the country’s opioid epidemic as a reason that the Federal government should police the recreational use of marijuana.

According to the poll, though, most Americans disagree, and even believe that weed poses less of a threat than booze does. “And most Americans also think marijuana is less dangerous than most other drugs,” CBS also notes, “particularly those who say they have
tried it.”

As for whether or not marijuana is an addictive substance, statistics suggest that the large majority people who smoke it will never become dependent, and those that do are unlikely to develop any withdrawal symptoms. So if you do decide to celebrate 4/20 by rolling a fat one, take comfort in knowing that this may be one of the last times you do it while looking over your shoulder.